Masters of their Universe

"A long time ago this land belonged to our fathers, but when I go up to the river I see camps of soldiers on its banks. These soldiers cut down my timber, they kill my buffalo and when I see that, my heart feels like bursting."

If ever you have had the opportunity to travel across the United States of America by car or Amtrack, then this blog will strike a chord.

Despite the damage inflicted on the landscape since William Bradford and the Mayflower pilgrim "Founding Fathers" arrived on Plymouth Rock in 1620, it is still possible to imagine what America was like pre-colonization. Spool back to the time of ancient redwood forests in Northern California and Oregon, the endless plains of Montana and Dakota and the lush States of Ohio, Pennsylvania, Kentucky and Virginia, all teeming with wild life, nourished by sparkling rivers and blanketed by clear skies. Surely this was the closest country to paradise on earth.

Native Americans at the Grand Canyon

At least the original Native American Indians thought so. The dignity and beauty of their civilization and their respect for the environment was the perfect formula for a harmonious co-existence with nature - that is until the Europeans arrived. The devastation of Native American culture and the systematic destruction of their lands and livelihoods is a blight on the history of man. It was not the first time a culture has been decimated or a land ravaged, but this was a loss of the most tragic kind.

"Grandfather Sky speaks and Grandmother Earth listens."

Little Big Horn Flats

"This is a good day to die .... follow me."
Low Dog - Ogala Chief at the Battle of Big Horn.

To truly understand I urge everyone to read a book titled "Bury My Heart At Wounded Knee" by Dee Williams and get a factual account of this genocide from the victims perspective. Too often our opinions are forged by modern propaganda designed to mask the guilt of the perpetrators. My copy of this book has a tear on every page and I am sure it will have the same effect on you.

"One does not sell the land people walk on."
Tashanka Witko [Crazy Horse] Sept 23, 1875

Hunkpapa Sioux Chief Sitting Bull - The Peacemaker

"Only after the last tree has been cut down. 

Only after the last river has been poisoned. 

Only after the last fish has been caught. 

Only then will you find money cannot be eaten."  
                                                                                                      Cree prophecy

"May the stars carry your sadness away,
May the flowers fill your heart with beauty,
May hope forever wipe away your tears,
And, above all, may silence make you strong."

"The Living Spirit" Chief Dan George [1899 -1981]